Ironman Canada - TriathlonFull Ironman

Total Time = 12h 33m 15sOverall Rank = 847/2400Age Group = Age Group Rank = 0/

Pre-race routine:

Arrived in Penticton on Wednesday, set up the trailer and organized my head for the week.

Thursday was a team ride with the Cops for Cancer, about 100 or so people showed up for an hour pedal out to maclean creek and back. Completed registration/sign-on for the race, tooled around the athlete's village for the day, dinner with friends that night at the pasta factory.

Saturday - Woke up and went down to the race site, did a 20min swim, 20bike, 15 min run. Nerves were setting in slightly but the exercises were very therapeutic. We hung around for the day, did the athlete's parade, dinner at the Hooded Merganzer with my parents and off to bed. Had a good sleep, set the alarm for 4am.

Great swim, good draft. I threw caution to the wind and started 3rd row, right in the centre. It was mayhem, but actually kind of fun. Number of times kicked in the head-2x, in the teeth-1x. Number of times punched or elbowed....lots.

I was able to breath bilaterally every 3rd stroke for pretty much the entire race. Got out of the water feeling fantastic

What would you do differently?:

nothing, great swim overall other than a few wandering moments at 2500m.

Transition 1

04m 8s

Comments:

Good transition, a bit of a sock problem. The run from the water to the bags to the tent and out to the bike was a marathon in itself!

What would you do differently?:

probably babypowder my socks to get them on easier.

Bike

5h 42m 17s

180.25 kms

31.60 km/hr

Comments:

I was expecting that all of the feed stations were going to have powerbars on-hand. I noticed that only a few of them did (2 or 3 I believe) when I went through. I ran out of emergency bars as a result. I know better than to put my race in the hands of the aid stations. Something to learn from foresure.

I also forgot to grab a water at the feed station ont he out and back and only realized it when I got to the bottom of yellow lake. Ran out of fluids halfway up and was hurting a bit at the next station. Underhydrated as a result of the downhill...the price was paid in the marathon.

What would you do differently?:

take my own food. smarter hydration.

Great ride, not so hot on the nutrition.

Transition 2

06m 45s

Comments:

took my shoes off at the timing mat so that I didn't have to run in my shoes. Turned out to be a semi-bad idea as my feet were tender and running on pavement didn't treat them all that well. Bathroom break added a bit of time onto the transition.

Run

5h 31m 3s

42.16 kms

07m 51s min/km

Comments:

A complete and utter disaster.

I suspect that the nutrition issues on the bike caught me on the run. The first 4 miles were awesome and I was running comfortably at a 5:30-5:50 pace. My calves were a bit tight but not too bad. Then the leg cramps set in. By mile 5 I could not flex my feet up and down and ran with considerable pain. My groin started to cramp. Any food or fluids I took in caused me to dry heave and things were not going well to say the least. I kept saying to myself "keep moving forward, don't stop". I kept running, walking only briefly, for a minute at a time. The first 5 feed stations had no chicken soup, just fruit, cookies, gatorade, water, and two flavours of powergels. Vanilla which is disgusting and "double latte" with caffeine. Caffiene on an upset stomach didn't help and my trip down the toilet bowl became worse. I struggled to special needs where I had pringles and advil. I didn't want to take Advil as I was already severely dehydrated. The pringles were a nice perk-me-up. The cramping continued relentlessly but I kept on running. The mental punishment of watching my goals peel away was just as hard as the physical toll.

By mile 20 I was starting to bounce back as I could see main street. I began to run faster, developed a stride and fought through the leg cramps. with 1 mile to go the camps lessened and I was able to finishe main street, the turn around, and the final stretch in great form.

Crossing the line was the single most incredible moment I've ever had. I just wish that I had continued my great race into the marathon. I feel satisfied but then again...a bit unsatisfied. Some unfinished business I suppose.